Emerging Issues In Food Safety-globally

The Global Food Safety Initiative is a private enterprise by those in the food industry aimed at offering guidance to the food industry for making food chain safer. This industry-driven initiative seeks to provide thought leadership on the various aspects of food and guides the food industry on implementing safety standards along all the points in the food chain.
Origins of the Global Food Safety Initiative:

The Global Food Safety Initiative was conceived and finessed in the 1990’s and 2000’s in the backdrop of various international food-related crises such as the mad cow disease in the UK, the dioxin affair in Belgium and the 2008 listeriosis outbreak caused by the Canadian company Maple Leaf. These crises triggered a strong desire for collective action by the food industry for taking creative preventive steps that could stall the occurrence of such events in the future. These crises provided the reason for the birth of the Global Food Safety Initiative.

The Global Food Safety Initiative was born out of the realization by leaders in the food supply and retail industries of the lack of coordinated audit procedures in the industry. Whatever audit and other checks and balances methods existed till then were largely fragmented, which is why they believed these crises happened. One of the primary aims of the Global Food Safety Initiative was to coalesce these procedures and set standards for their implementation.

The Global Food Safety Initiative, which was created out of collaborative actions from an independent network, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), which consisted of CEO’s from the leading players of the food retail industry, has a vision of making safe food available to consumers, no matter where they are located.
Objectives of the Global Food Safety Initiative:

The core objectives of the Global Food Safety Initiative are:
The workings of the Global Food Safety Initiative:

The Global Food Safety Initiative carries out its aims and objectives by holding meetings, conferences and seminars and other such events at local and regional levels. The aim of the Global Food Safety Initiative is to use these events as the platform for sharing knowledge of how to go about their work. The Directors of the Global Food Safety Initiative are chosen from among the leaders of the industry. The CGF drives the day-to-day functions and administration of the Global Food Safety Initiative.
Certification from The Global Food Safety Initiative:

Depending on the stream of retail business a company is in, The Global Food Safety Initiative issues certificates to entities that satisfy its conditions on meeting safety standards. To get certified from the Global Food Safety Initiative, companies in the food retail industry need to meet required standards by having the necessary audits carried out for their systems. Once a Global Food Safety Initiative certificate is issued, the organization has to ensure its upkeep by carrying out regular subsequent actions as required.